Golden Eagle runners to compete at Charlotte Invitational Saturday

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A large, challenging field awaits Saturday when the Tennessee Tech cross country teams compete at the Charlotte Invitational. Coach Tony Cox's teams have not competed in two weeks, and hope to be fresh for the races.

The women's race is a 6K route, and begins at 8:45 a.m. EDT on the McAlpine Creek Park course. The men's event is an 8K circuit, and is slated for a 9:20 a.m. EDT starting gun.

Rebecca Cline, a senior from Spring Hill, Tenn., will pace the Tech women's team after leading the squad in each of the first two meets of the year. The second-place finisher on the squad has been split, with senior Meghan O'Donoghue in that role in the first race of the year and senior Peri Winborne finishing just behind Cline in the second outing two weeks ago.

John Greene, a senior from Friendsville, Tenn., should set the pace for the Golden Eagle men's team, as he has done each of the initial two races this season. At the Vanderbilt Invitational two weeks ago, Greene covered the distance in 26:18, just one second shy of his career-best (26:17 at the 2011 Evansville Invitational). Cox expects Greene will be one of several Tech runners to surpass their career-best marks at the Charlotte layout, a relatively flat course.